Landscapes and Cities; "Museum" Visit Response

On my way to  Vizcaya Museum and Garden my friend Carlos pick me up from my house. Later we drove about 30 minutes to Downtown Miami to pick up our friend Linda. From there we set up the GPS to our destination Vizcaya and headed again to the highway for about a good 15 to 20 minutes. So overall it was about a 50 minute drive from home. In our drive I found myself looking at the landscape of the city (as I usually do because I have always admired the over all look of tall buildings next to each other, and the sun shining through the glass in the outside), I tend to pay attention to the architecture and how the shape of the negative space around the edification creates another shape of the city. After exiting the highway we entered a more suburban area were the houses around it seem big and luxurious. The area seemed peaceful with abundant vegetation. Which contrasted with my neighborhood seems there is less plans and nature in my usual surroundings, and homes are compact apartments with little to no space .In less than a minute we reached our destination where we meet up with our other friend Danny. The moment I stepped out of the car I could feel,smell and almost taste the Humidity at the place. The mansion was surrounded by what I would call a forest swamp. And of course with nature comes wild life too, so you could hear and see birds flying and on the trees, lizards, mosquitos, butterflies, spiders etc... 

International Harvester Vice President James Deering was not unusual in building a Florida winter home in the early 1900s. Like many “snowbirds” today, he was attracted to the warm weather and hoped it would improve his health. Deering’s choice of Miami—rather than the more established Palm Beach—was, however, uncommon and based in part on the fact that his father had already built a house in Coconut Grove. Deering was also unusual among his wealthy peers in hiring not an established, architecture firm but, instead, three young and relatively inexperienced men to design his estate: Paul Chalfin provided artistic oversight, Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr. brought professional knowledge of architecture, and Diego Suarez provided landscape architecture expertise. Together these men created a unique subtropical estate. The planning and construction of Vizcaya lasted over a decade, from 1910 to 1922. Deering modeled his estate after a centuries’-old Italian country villa. The work of art that most stood of out to me was the detail the ceilings in every room, weather it was an ornament or a painting the details in the room we exquisite. This involved the large-scale purchase of European antiques and the design of buildings and landscapes to accommodate them. At the same time, Deering a modern businessman, incorporated twentieth-century building methods and technologies at Vizcaya, and established agricultural facilities relevant to his background as a manufacturer of farm equipment. Deering planned the estate slightly south of Miami’s historic (and current) downtown business district. Vizcaya originally consisted of 180 acres. The design included a reconfiguration of roads to create the strip of South Miami Avenue that bisects the estate. The architecture seemed very modern to the era ad you can appreciate that in the technological advances of introduce in the house, but at the same time it connects the time period but the ornaments paintings and sculptures styles of the era of early 1900s . Deering would build the large Main House and the expansive gardens on the east, or waterfront side, of the property, while reserving the western portion for the Village to house staff, grow crops, keep animals and otherwise support his lifestyle. James Deering’s occupancy of Vizcaya began officially on Christmas Day, 1916, when the Main House was finished. Paul Chalfin staged an elaborate ceremony to mark the occasion, complete with gondolas, cannons and Deering’s friends dressed in Italian peasant costumes.From then until his death in 1925, Deering typically resided at Vizcaya from the end of November to the middle of April, often in the company of guests. In addition to his family and close friends, he hosted several well-known figures of the time, such as film star Lilian Gish and President Warren Harding. Deering enjoyed dining in the Breakfast Room overlooking the gardens and screening Hollywood films in the Courtyard of the Main House. Deering died a bachelor in 1925, leaving Vizcaya to his half-brother, Charles. The following year Vizcaya endured one of Miami’s greatest hurricanes. The boats, docked on the bay, were destroyed and many garden statues and furnishings were terribly damaged. Subsequently, Charles Deering’s daughters, Barbara Deering Danielson and Marion Deering McCormick, acquired full ownership of Vizcaya and its surrounding lands. While they periodically vacationed at Vizcaya, Deering’s Nicole eces dedicated the following decades to transforming the estate from a private home into a public museum. The Depression, no doubt, made the maintenance of such a property increasingly challenging. In 1934, the Deering heirs asked Paul Chalfin to undertake repairs at Vizcaya and they briefly opened the estate to the public before it was again devastated by a major hurricane one year later. In 1945, the family transferred the Lagoon Gardens and the southern grounds on the west side of South Miami Avenue to the Diocese of St. Augustine and Mercy Hospital. Vizcaya’s future remained uncertain.

In 1952, James Deering’s nieces, Barbara Deering Danielson and Marion Deering McCormick, conveyed Vizcaya to Dade County (now Miami-Dade. In the following year, the estate opened as the Dade County Art Museum within the County’s Park and Recreation Department. The museum’s original name demonstrates that Vizcaya did not then seem a “historic” property and that South Florida’s cultural landscape has changed dramatically over the past 60 years.The museum features the Main House with 34 decorated rooms showcasing over 2,500 art objects and furnishings; ten acres of European-inspired formal gardens; a significant orchid collection totaling 2,000 specimens; and 25 acres of endangered primary growth forests.  Vizcaya is accredited by the American Association of Museums and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1995 for its significant architecture, landscapes, interiors and collections. Over the years their work has included preservation and conservation initiatives to save Vizcaya, including enhanced maintenance, capital improvements and planning for the future of 50-acre site. They also have made major strides in improving visitor experience and promoting this National Historic Landmark treasure. 

Unfortunately Vizcaya we through another hurricane this year Irma, which led to disaster on the gardens, tree fallen and signs of flooding were noticeable. The visitors around the place varied from foreigners to residents, and photographers all around the gardens. While we where there see toured the entire Main House for about 2 hours and commented about the artwork and objects on display. I would imagine how would have been the living at the time. How was their live style how it felt to live in the house. Once I was inside I immediately transported to another time, it feel to me to the closest thing to a time machine. As I went along, room by room reading the description and to whom the room belonged to, it felt like I was part of the family that used to own the house. I would imagine myself as one of the or even as a member of the staff once I visited the kitchen with was mostly of them worked. I loved the feeling of been mentally transported to that place in time thanks to the preservation.  Which left me thinking about the live style at the time. This is my second visit to this beautiful site and as the first one I left wanting to come back and move in into the mansion. Of course I know that is not possible but a girl can dream, right!? I honestly dont know how mu neiberhood could be even close to the Vizcaya environment.